Milwaukee Common Council honors Vel Phillips with stretch of 4th Street named after her

Marchers talk about Vel Phillips and her impact on Milwaukee's open housing marches.

Ald. Vel Phillips smiled as she was boosted to the shoulders of NAACP youth council commandos in 1967 while Father James Groppi spoke to the crowd at St. Boniface Catholic Church. Both later were arrested.(Photo: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel files)

Phillips, who died last month at age 95, was a lifelong trailblazer and civil rights advocate who broke racial and gender barriers.

Phillips was the first woman and the first African-American to be elected to the Common Council, as well as the first and only African-American ever elected to statewide office — she served as secretary of state — in Wisconsin.

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Ald. Vel Phillips faced Police Chief Harold A. Breier accross the table at City Hall in 1966 as they discussed police taking photographs at Common Council meetings. Council President Martin Schreiber sat between them. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Rose Kennedy (right), mother of Sen. John F. Kennedy, visited with Ald. Vel Phillips, Democratic national committeewoman, at Phillips' home in Milwaukee in 1960. Kennedy completed a week's tour of Wisconsin to help in her son's campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. She came here from Palm Beach, Fla. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Vel Phillips, Wisconsin's secretary of state, won a rousing response when she spoke in 1981 in front of the Old Federal Building at a countdown rally for the Equal Rights Amendment. It was part of a national effort sponsored by the National Organizations for Women. Phillips urged women to stop being polite in their work for equality. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Hank Aaron, former Braves and Brewers slugger and baseball's home run king, and Vel Philips, former Wisconsin secretary of state, check the program from the 1991 NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner. Aaron was the featured speaker at the 1991 event. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Ald. Vel Phillips watched Mayor Henry Maier turn and wince, holding his thumb as if he had struck it with the hammer after nailing up an address plate in an official dedication of the Northtown Planning and Development Council's remodeled headquarters at 2210 N. 3rd St. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Ald. Vel R. Phillips attended a rally of the youth council of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1967 at St. Boniface Catholic Father James Groppi joined in the singing. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Squeals of delight were heard in the lobby of the Pfister Hotel as Ald. Vel Phillips (left) and the delegate to the United Nations from Liberia, Angie Brooks, greeted each other in 1970. The two were classmates at the University of Wisconsin. Brooks was in Milwaukee to speak at Alverno College. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Vel R. Phillips, who become a judge in Milwaukee County Children's Court, spoke to an inmate at Wisconsin State Prison at Waupun in 1971. She was with a group from the Wisconsin Judicial College that toured state correctional institutions. At right is new Circuit Judge John F. Foley, who formerly was a Milwaukee County children's court judge. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Former Secretary of State Vel Phillips paints a mural saluting the late Martin Luther King Jr. at Milwaukee High School of the Arts in 1990. The design incorporating the symbol of a dove was preprinted. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Cited in 1964 for outstanding public service, which has in turn helped raise the status of women, were Vel Phillips (from left), alderman for Milwaukee's 6th Ward; Sister Mary Thomasita, O.S.F., head of the art department of Cardinal Stritch College; Helen C. White, professor and chair of the English department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Mrs. George Ettenheim, chair of the city plan commission, and Carol Cotter, commentator for WTMJ. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Four Milwaukee women, including Ald. Vel Phillips (left), received distinguished public service awards in 1962 from the Milwaukee chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, a public service sorority. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Wife of an Ohio congressman and former Milwaukeean, Peggy Smeeton Stanton (left), was guest speaker in 1968 at the Matrix table dinner where Vel R. Phillips was honored as "woman of the year" by the Alpha Gamma chapter of Theta Sigma Phi. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Milwaukee Ald. Vel Phillips joined the sit-in group at the state Capitol rotunda in 1961. Phillips, who is also Democratic National Committeewoman from Wisconsin, remained there for four hours. The sit-in was in support of bills before the Legislature banning racial discrimination in housing. Associated Press

Vel Phillips, a former local and state official, reads a statement in 1991 in support of MATC President Barbara Holmes during a rally Monday at Milwaukee Enterprise Center 2821 N. 4th St. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Ald. Vel Phillips and Father James E. Groppi answered questions from newsmen on the porch of the NAACP youth council Freedom House after police arrested many people at a rally for fair housing the group was holding on Aug. 31, 1967. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Ald. Vel Phillips and Father James E. Groppi answered questions from reporters on the porch of the NAACP youth council Freedom House after police arrested many people at a rally the group was holding on Aug. 31, 1967. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Ald. Vel Phillips smiles as she is boosted to the shoulders of NAACP youth council commandos as Father James Groppi speaks to the crowd in St. Boniface Catholic Church in 1967. Both later were arrested. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Ald. Vel R. Phillips raised her hand to speak at the Common Council meeting in November 1967. Her vote was the only one against deferring action on the controversial open housing proposals. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Flanked by Commandos of the Milwaukee NAACP Youth Council, Father James Groppi and Ald. Vel Phillips continue the marches in support of open housing in Milwaukee despite below-zero temperatures, on Dec. 31, 1967. This photo was published in the Jan. 1, 1968, Milwaukee Sentinel. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Vel Phillips, Wisconsin's first African-American on the Milwaukee Common Council, hugs State Sen. Gwen Moore during her victory over Matt Flynn for the Democratic 4th Congressional District nomination during Moore's victory speech at the Italian Community Center Sept. 14, 2004, in Milwaukee. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Acting Milwaukee Mayor Marvin Pratt kisses his wife, Dianne, after the swearing-in ceremony performed by Vel Phillips, former alderman and Wisconsin secretary of state, in the Common Council chambers of City Hall in January 2004. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Congresswoman Gwen Moore (left) and former Secretary of State Vel Phillips hold a news conference outside the vehicle registration station on N. Teutonia Ave. after the Supreme Court ruling blocking implementation of Wisconsin's voter ID law in October 2014. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, a Milwaukee Democrat, delivers the eulogy during a memorial service Saturday for civil rights pioneer Vel. R. Phillips at St. Mark AME Church in Milwaukee. Phillips pushed for fair housing in Milwaukee and helped leader marchers along with with Father James Groppi. Rick Wood / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"She was my sister, friend, mentor and confidant. She had a healthy dose of 'Get a grip, we can figure this out,' " said Milwaukee County Circuit Chief Judge Maxine White, who spoke during the memorial services for Vel Phillips. White knew Phillips for more than 40 years. Rick Wood / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"She was a genuinely open and sweet person, a voracious reader, continually interested in politics and never failed to stop to talk to a fellow Milwaukeean," said film producer Robert Trondson, who produced a documentary by Wisconsin Public Television about Vel Phillips' life. Rick Wood / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Ald. Vel Phillips smiled as she was boosted to the shoulders of NAACP youth council commandos in 1967 while Father James Groppi spoke to the crowd at St. Boniface Catholic Church. Both later were arrested. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel files